Thomas G. Haring Award for Research
Staff from the Department of Child & Family Studies at USF’s Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute will be presented with the Thomas G. Haring Award for Research at the 2004 Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH) Conference in Reno, Nevada November 17-20th. Pamelazita Buschbacher, Lise Fox and Shelley Clarke will be recognized for their article, "Recapturing Desired Family Routines: A Parent-Professional Behavioral Collaboration," published in the Spring 2004 journal, Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities.
As the premier vehicle for the dissemination of progressive research in the disability field, the TASH journal publishes articles on topics such as inclusion, facilitated communication, supported living, supported employment, issues of early childhood, self-advocacy, positive behavioral practices, disability rights, and issues of concern to families. The award is presented to promote research and scholarly activity in the field of significant disabilities.
The article describes a study that provides a demonstration of the long-term effects of parent-implemented positive behavior support (PBS) within family routines. “Families have been identified as important collaborators in the PBS effort because they are the most important and durable resource for a child who has problem behavior, “ said Lise Fox,” and they are the most knowledgeable persons about the child's strengths, needs, preferences, and learning histories.”
Following the parent implementation of PBS, results indicated (1) reductions in challenging behavior, (2) increases in the child's engagement, (3) increases in positive parent-child interactions, (4) decreases in negative parent-child interactions, and (5) increased number of days that the child slept through the night.
“This study shows that parent-professional collaboration can lead to practical solutions through the use of PBS within family routines,” added Fox.
Additional information on PBS can be found at the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support at http://www.pbis.org, or Florida’s Positive Behavior Support Project at http://flpbs.fmhi.usf.edu
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The Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS) is a department of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida. The faculty and staff of CFS are committed to enhancing the development, mental health and well-being of children and families through leadership in integrating research, theory & practice.